Book and Video Reviews

We have reviewed all of these mushroom-related books over the years. Some of these reviews were printed in the Newsletter. Here, we provide links to our reviews as well as links to places where you may be able to purchase these books. In some cases they are out of print and no longer available. In each case, we've include a link to the last known location where the book could be purchased. We do not stock any of these books and cannot sell them to you directly. See our catalog for things we can sell to you directly.

Books About Several Species

Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms of the World by Ian R. Hall, Steven L. Stephenson, Peter K. Buchanan, Wang Yun and Anthony L.J. Cole: The title of this new book did not attract our attention, but we learned it had a chapter on cultivation. That chapter comprises nearly 20 percent of the 371 page book. . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

The Mushroom Cultivator by Paul Stamets: This is the book that brought exotic mushroom cultivation to home growers. . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms by Paul Stamets: Our copy of the earlier edition of this book was used, reused, and loaned out so often that at this moment we have no idea where it is. The key difference in editions is that this version adds cultivation information for seven more species, bringing the total to 32 . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Medicinal Mushrooms You Can Grow by Hajo Hadeler: Although the subtitle is "For Health, Pleasure and Profit", this book, now in its second printing, is primarily for home growers . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Books About a Single Species

Shiitake Growers Handbook by Paul Przybylowicz and John Donoghue: If shiitake is your species, this book is your book . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Handbook For Commercial Mushroom Growers (Agaricus) Pennsylvania State University: Handbook for Commercial Mushroom Growers is actually a three-ring notebook filled with a compendium of scientific and technical information useful to mushroom farmers . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

The Black Truffle by Ian Hall, Gordon Brown and James Byars: This is a beautiful little book. It's a hardcover book printed on high quality, glossy paper with some terrific color photos. It is aimed at encouraging and supporting the developing truffle industry in New Zealand, but its its content is applicable to anyone, anywhere who is considering truffle cultivation . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Videos

Health Information

Cordyceps: China's Healing Mushroom by Georges Halpern: In past reviews of books by Terry Willard and Kenneth Jones, we have lamented the lack of a western medical perspective. For the most part, these books have focused on the Chinese view and been based upon Chinese studies which never seem to offer enough information . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Cordyceps: Tonic Food of Ancient China by Kenneth Jones: Kenneth Jones, who did most of the research for Terry Willard's book has authored several books on his own. His latest is this little 52-page paperback . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

NEW!The Fungal Pharmacy - The Complete Guide to Medicinal Mushrooms & Lichens of North America by Robert Rogers: Rogers is a retired clinical herbalist and an amateur mycologist. He has written several books and teaches plant medicine at Grant MacEwan University and . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Healing Mushrooms by Georges M.Halpern, MD, PhD: This is a new edition of a book Halpern published several years ago. The major change is that the material is updated with cited studies that are generally less than six years old. The book starts with introductory material . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Medicinal Mushrooms: An Exploration of Tradition, Healing and Culture by Christopher Hobbs: This book is drawn from a broad range of written work from the historical record, relatively recent clinical reports and scientific studies . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

NEW!Mushrooms for Health and Longevity by Ken Babal: Ken Babal is a certified nutritionist with a practice in Los Angeles. He has written many articles for popular magazines as well as several books . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Reishi: Ancient Herb for Modern Times by Kenneth Jones: This little 48 page book provides a great summary of what is known about the medicinal properties of reishi mushrooms . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Reishi Mushroom: Herb of Spiritual Potency and Medical Wonder by Terry Willard: Is the Reishi mushroom really wondrous? This book could certainly lead one to think so . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Shiitake: The Healing Mushroom by Kenneth Jones: Jones, while clearly excited about the potential of shiitake in human health, maintains his objectivity while drawing together all the available evidence to make his case. That's a major accomplishment . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Marketing

The New Farmers' Market by Vance Corum, Marcie Rosenweig and Eric Gibson: The subtitle for this book is "Farm-fresh ideas for producers, managers and communities." The book is indeed an idea book. . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Mycology and Mushroom Science

Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets: As Paul's interests broaden, so does the scope of his books. This one is part philosophy (The Mycelial Mind), part planetary health (Mycorestoration) and part cultivation (Growing Mycelia and Mushrooms) . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Genetics and Breeding of Edible Mushrooms by Chang, Buswell, and Miles (Editors): Genetics and Breeding of Edible Mushrooms is directed toward those interested in developing improved strains of edible mushroom species. It's basis is a collection of papers presented at a UNESCO regional workshop . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Mushrooms as Functional Foods edited by Peter C.K. Cheung: This 2008 book, edited by Peter C.K. Cheung and published by Wiley, is a collection of six papers by various authors . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Mushroom Identification

There are about 25 field guides in print that detail North American mushrooms. Fortunately there are only a few that are really good and helpful. You can't go wrong if you choose from this list:

All That the Rain Promises, and More ... by David Arora: This is a great little book for identifying many common species in the wild. Beyond that, the book is fun . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora: This comprehensive book addresses most of the species you are likely to find anywhere, although it is written with particular emphasis on the western United States. It is the definitive book . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Audubon Field Guide to North American Mushrooms by Gary Lincoff: This book is truly amazing in the number of photographically illustrated species that it describes in its one, pocket-sized volume . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Mushrooms of North America by Roger Phillips: This book is a bit large to be considered a field guide. It is particularly helpful because . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

The Rainbow Beneath My Feet: A Mushroom Dyer's Field Guide by Arleen and Alan Bessette: This book builds upon the body of work developed by Miriam Rice and reviewed in past issues of this newsletter. At 176 pages it includes a number of color photographs of products made of materials that were dyed with mushroom dyes, but, more importantly . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Mushroom Cookery

The Mushroom Lover's Mushroom Cookbook and Primer by Amy Farges: Amy Farges is co-owner of Marche Aux Delices (using the trademark "Aux Delices Des Bois") with her husband Thierry. The firm distributes wild mushrooms across the United States from their offices in . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Joe's Book of Mushroom Cookery by Jack Czarnecki: When Joe's restaurant opened in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1916 as a workingmans' bar, it specialized in mushroom soup made from wild mushrooms gathered in the pine forests . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Mushroom Magic by Steven Wheeler: This cookbook, subtitled "100 Fabulous Feasts with Wild and Cultivated Mushrooms", is a great introduction to gourmet cooking with mushrooms. The book is an updated version . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Other Categories

The Bootstrap Guide to Medicinal Herbs in the Garden Field & Marketplace by Lee Sturdivant and Tom Blakley: This book is billed as the first guide to medicinal herb growing and marketing in the U.S. and Canada. That doesn't sound much like a mushroom book, but . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Chester County Mushroom Farming by Bruce Edward Mowday: This new paper-back book highlights the rich history of mushroom farming at the epicenter of U.S. mushroom production . . . • Read More • Purchase This Book •

Search for ANY Book, Recording or Other Item

Amazon.com has many additional books on mushroom topics. We have only listed those we have reviewed. Use the search box below to find other mushroom books as well as other books, recordings and lots of other stuff. Use this page as your link to Amazon's huge catalog and help support The Mushroom Growers' Newsletter.